The USA team appears on the verge of reclaiming the Curtis Cup from Great Britain and Ireland.

After earning five of the available six points to grab a 9-3 lead on Saturday – including a sweep of the three morning four-ball encounters, captain Virginia Derby Grimes’ charges need just 1½ of the available eight points in Sunday’s singles to return the cup to American soil after a three-point defeat in 2016 at Dun Laoghaire, Ireland.

Kristen Gillman, 20, of Austin, Texas, the 2014 U.S. Women’s Amateur champion and a rising junior at the University of Alabama, improved to 4-0-0 in the three-day biennial competition, winning her morning four-ball match with reigning NCAA individual champion Jennifer Kupcho, 3 and 2, and her afternoon foursomes match with Alabama teammate Lauren Stephenson, 6 and 5.

Gillman has a chance to match American Stacy Lewis (2008) and England’s Bronte Law (2016) by going 5-0-0 in a single Match since the format was changed to three days a decade ago.

“Today was a really great day,” said Stephenson. “Probably even better than we expected. Every single person played really well from morning to afternoon. We all fought really hard and it's really fun to be able to be so excited for each other.”

Despite making just two birdies over 13 holes, Lucy Li, 15, of Redwood Shores, Calif., and reigning U.S. Women’s Amateur champion Sophia Schubert, 22, of Oak Ridge, Tenn., still managed to post a 7-and-5 victory over Paul Grant and Shannon McWilliam in the afternoon foursomes session. Li and Schubert won a hole with a bogey and another with a double bogey.

The lone bright spot for GB and I came from the tandem of Olivia Mehaffey, 20, of Northern Ireland, and Sophie Lamb, 20, of England. The duo registered their second foursomes victory of the competition, defeating Kupcho, the No. 2 player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking™, and world No. 1 Lilia Vu, 2 and 1.

Mehaffey is one of two returning players from the victorious 2016 team and the side’s highest-ranked golfer in the WAGR (No. 16), while Lamb was the low amateur in last year’s Women’s British Open.

Kupcho and Vu only managed one birdie, which came on the par-5 first hole, and it was matched by Mehaffey and Lamb. The GB and I duo won the second hole with a conceded birdie and never looked back, building as much as a 3-hole lead. The two sides halved the final holes of the match.

“I love games where your opponents are really coming at you and the golf is really good,” said Mehaffey. “It comes down to those putts and it comes down to those moments, and it’s the reason you practise. I love matches that are high quality and that was definitely a high-quality match.”

NOTABLE

This was the first USA sweep in a four-ball session since 2010 when the Americans swept the entire day en route to a 12.5-7.5 victory at Essex County Club.

GB and I’s Olivia Mehaffey and Sophie Lamb became just the second tandem to play all four sessions together since the format was changed to a three-day event in 2008. Georgia Hall and Stephanie Meadow played all four sessions in 2014 at St. Louis (Missouri) Country Club for GB and I.

The USA has a chance to register the most points in the three-day Curtis Cup era. The USA totalled 13 points in 2008, the first year the Curtis Cup went to three days, and again in 2014. It registered 12.5 points in 2010.

QUOTABLE

Olivia Mehaffey on the disappointment of being down by six points, but producing 2.5 points with Sophie Lamb:

“Elaine (Farquharson-Black) told us to go out and take care of our point, and Sophie and I took care of our point, and there’s not much more we could have done but win [Saturday] morning, as well. We played really well this afternoon. We played two amazing players (Kupcho and Vu), and it feels pretty good to get the win right now. Obviously, it’s a little disappointing in how the team has done, but I’m sure everyone will be pumped up [on Sunday].”

USA captain Virginia Derby Grimes on the message she gave her team: “I just keep reminding them: stay focused, one shot at a time, stay in the moment and be patient on the greens. Out here that is what it is all about … We’re going to stay motivated. It’s not over until it’s over. Just go out there and play their games and enjoy the walk. It’s the same message. We’re not going to change anything.”

Grimes on how 15-year-old Lucy Li has fit in with the seven college players: “We brought in two junior players (Rachel Heck was the other at a practice session) and I thought it was great because it gave me a chance to see how those players mixed with the college players. And I got a lot out of that session. [Sophia Schubert] and her have been practicing this [foursomes] format a lot together. Those pairings really came together a month ago when we were here. They just blended together. They just fit each other.”

Andrea Lee on the enjoyment she had playing with Li in winning Saturday’s four-ball match: “We had a lot of fun out there, got our handshake down and everything, and we were just laughing and joking and keeping each other really light and positive on the golf course. It was just really fun.”

WHAT'S NEXT?

Sunday's final round of play will feature eight singles matches. The USA Team needs 1.5 points to win the Match, while the GB and I team needs seven points to be assured of retaining the Curtis Cup